Paraphernalia
1960s: In a much less dangerous time of drug criminalization, "heads" would use small suede bags, with a drawstring to close them shut, and hold the $10-15 "lids" of "pot" -marijuana. thumb|150px|[[Wikipedia:Bongs are an example of user-specific paraphernalia, in this case for the use of cannabis.]] Paraphernalia is a slang term, a variant of the phrase "Drug paraphernalia" used in the criminal law field to denote any equipment, product, or material that is modified for making, using, or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes. Drugs such as Wikipedia:cocaine, Wikipedia:heroin, marijuana, and Wikipedia:methamphetamine are related to a wide range of Wikipedia:paraphernalia. Paraphernalia generally falls into two categories including user-specific products and dealer-specific products. User-specific products include glass hashish pipes, crack cocaine pipes, smoking masks, hashish bongs, cocaine freebase kits, syringes, roach clips for holding the burning end of a marijuana "joint". Some stores sell items for growing hydroponic marijuana, such as guidebooks, fertilizer, and fluorescent grow-lights. The term paraphernalia also refers to items such as hollowed-out cosmetic cases or fake pagers when used to conceal illegal drugs, or products purported to cleanse an individuals system of drug residues to increase the individual's chance of passing a urine analysis for drug use. Dealer-specific products are used by the drug sellers or traffickers for preparing drugs for distribution. Items such as digital scales, vials, and small zipper storage bags that can be used to sell crack, heroin, or marijuana fall into this category. Sales With the rise of the drug culture in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, the country began to see the appearance of head shop, which were stores that sold a wide range of drug paraphernalia. While some of the paraphernalia was crude and home-made, much was being commercially manufactured to cater to a fast-growing market which persists today. Legal restrictions in the USA In the USA, enterprising individuals would sell items openly in the street, until anti-paraphernalia laws in the 1980s eventually ended the practice. Today, law enforcement faces another challenge. With the advent of the Internet, drug paraphernalia sellers have greatly expanded their sales to a worldwide market. For example, in a recent law enforcement effort, Wikipedia:Operation Pipe Dreams, the 18 companies targeted accounted for more than a quarter of a billion dollars in retail drug paraphernalia sales annually. According to the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, 21 USC 863, which is part of the Wikipedia:Controlled Substances Act, in the USA it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia as defined. Possession is usually illegal under State law. The law gives specific guidance on determining what constitutes drug paraphernalia. Many states have also enacted their own laws prohibiting drug paraphernalia. In the 1982 case Wikipedia:Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court found a municipal ordinance requiring licensing for paraphernalia sales to have sufficiently distinguished marketing for illegal use to be constitutional. Government crackdowns have resulted in the arrest of sellers of recreational drug paraphernalia, such as actor Wikipedia:Tommy Chong, who spent time in prison in 2003 for having his name used on bongs for sale via the internet.Actor Tommy Chong Sentenced To prison on Drug Paraphernalia Charges The American drug paraphernalia laws can also apply to many items that have more legitimate uses than for illegal drugs. Small mirrors and other glass products (such as Wikipedia:Pyrex Wikipedia:test tubes and "glass crack pipes"), lighters, rolled up currency, razor blades, aluminum/tin foil, credit cards, and spoons have all been used to prosecute people under paraphernalia laws, whether or not they contain residue of illegal drugs.Note: Most paper currency in the United States does contain trace amounts of cocaine and other drugs http://www.snopes.com/business/money/cocaine.asp While United States federal statute defines paraphernalia with the concept of primary use, in practice this can be interpreted to be what the individual was currently primarily using the item for, allowing for common items to be treated as paraphernalia only in cases where more clear evidence allows such determination of primary use. Head shops are very much alive and well in the USA, however. Generally, though, they have signs near presumable paraphernalia saying "For tobacco use only" or "Not for use with illicit drugs." Many also ban customers for referencing use of illegal drugs when buying items. Similar policies are used in online head shops, where customers are often made to verify detailed disclaimers of their non-use of illegal substances before buying items. Majority of the below deleted September 2009. Parts may have been restored Drug paraphernalia is any equipment, product, or material that is modified for making, using, or concealing illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Drug paraphernalia generally falls into two categories including user-specific products and dealer-specific products. User-specific products are marketed to illegal drug users to assist them in taking or concealing illegal drugs. These products include glass hashish pipes, crack cocaine pipes, smoking masks, hashish bongs, cocaine freebase kits, syringes, roach clips for holding the burning end of a marijuana "joint", and items such as hollowed-out cosmetic cases or fake pagers used to conceal illegal drugs. Some stores sell items for growing hydroponic marijuana, such as guidebooks, fertilizer, and fluorescent grow-lights, and products purported to cleanse an individuals system of drug residues to increase the individual's chance of passing a urine analysis for drug use. Dealer-specific products are used by drug traffickers for preparing illegal drugs for distribution at the street level. Items such as digital scales, vials, and small "ziploc" baggies that can be used to sell crack, heroin, or marijuana fall into this category. Sales With the rise of the drug culture in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, the country began to see the appearance of head shops, which were stores that sold a wide range of drug paraphernalia. While some of the paraphernalia was crude and home-made, much was being commercially manufactured to cater to a fast-growing market. Enterprising individuals even sold items openly in the street, until anti-paraphernalia laws in the 1980s eventually ended such sales. Today, law enforcement faces another challenge. With the advent of the Internet, drug paraphernalia sellers have greatly expanded their sales to a worldwide market. For example, in a recent law enforcement effort, Operation Pipe Dreams, the 18 companies targeted accounted for more than a quarter of a billion dollars in retail drug paraphernalia sales annually. Typically, such businesses operate retail stores as well as websites posing as retailers of legitimate tobacco accessories. Head shops may also sell other retail goods, such as t-shirts and accessories with rock or metal band logos, rock posters, and leather biker apparel. Some head shops also sell items such as leather boots and clothing that is targeted at metal or hardcore punk enthusiasts, or at hip hop fans (e.g., gold-plated belt buckles shaped like handguns, gold chains, etc.) In addition to head shops, other stores that may sell drug paraphernalia include some convenience stores, and pawnshops. Improvised paraphernalia In the absence of commercially-available paraphernalia, either due to legal restrictions or an actual lack of manufacturers, many drug users manufacture their own. Primitive examples of this would include pipes for the consumption of methamphetamine made from broken light bulbs, spotting knives and basic spottles. Police in many countries will seize objects they believe to be improvised paraphernalia and charge people for possessing these objects. Legal restrictions In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia as defined. There is no Federal law regarding simple possession of drug paraphernalia, but such possession is usually illegal under State law. The law gives specific guidance on determining what constitutes drug paraphernalia. Many states have also enacted their own laws prohibiting drug paraphernalia. Government crackdowns have resulted in the arrest of sellers of recreational drug paraphernalia, such as actor Tommy Chong, who spent time in prison in 2003 for the sale of glass pipes. In the United Kingdom the sale of such drug paraphernalia is not prohibited by law. It is common to find at least one head shop in an average sized town selling vaporizers, water-bongs, one-hitters, stash cans, herb grinders etc. Sale is also not illegal in Canada, where not only are these items available in specialty stores such as head shops, but also at local convenience stores. Drug paraphernalia are also not illegal in Italy. In countries where marijuana and hashish is illegal, retailers often specify that glass and pottery pipes are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. In New Zealand it is legal to sell pipes and vaporisers, but illegal to sell bongs and water pipes. These are sold nonetheless, by the expedient of removing the pipe-stem and calling them "vases". Exemption for high-dosage tobacco equipment "Drug paraphernalia" usually does not include items traditionally used with tobacco, like large-bowl pipes and cigarette rolling papers.1 Critics find it ironic that cigarette papers, the acknowledged most dangerous method of smoking, are legal while attempting to have and use any allegedly safer "smoking" method such as a vaporizer (heats only to a subcombustion temperature, eliminates carbon monoxide) or "one-hitter" pipe (small 25-mg. serving size, lower burning temperature) serves as basis for prosecutions, on the pretext that it is intended for use with illegal cannabis rather than tobacco. Critics of the tobacco industry argue that cigarette companies have lobbied successfully against small-dose smoking equipment because mass-marketing hot-burning overdose cigarettes (typically 700-mg. net weight per cigarette) is the basis of industry profits, resulting also in gigantic tax revenue rewards to the government (10 percent of the government tax revenues in Pakistan are from cigarette taxes.) If mini-dosage utensils, presently banned and demonized as "paraphernalia", became popular among tobacco users there could be a steep drop both in industry profits and in government tobacco tax collections. Other products banned While most of the drug paraphernalia items have no legal use to individuals, drug paraphernalia laws can also apply to many items that have more legitimate uses than for illegal drugs. Small mirrors and other glass products (such as Pyrex test tubes and "glass crack pipes"), lighters, rolled up currency, razor blades, aluminum/tin foil, credit cards, and spoons have all been used to prosecute people under paraphernalia laws, whether or not they contain residue of illegal drugs.Note: Most paper currency in the United States does contain trace amounts of cocaine and other drugs http://www.snopes.com/business/money/cocaine.asp While United States federal statute defines paraphernalia with the concept of primary use, in practice this can be interpreted to be what the individual was currently primarily using the item for, allowing for common items to be treated as paraphernalia only in cases where more clear evidence allows such determination of primary use. References *US Drug Enforcement Agency. Drug Paraphernalia: Tools of the Illegal Drug Trade.. 2006. See also * Wikipedia:Philadelphia blunt ban * Wikipedia:One hitter (smoking) * Wikipedia:Paraphernalia precursor to the slang use External links Category:Drug paraphernalia Category:Cannabis smoking Category:Recreational drug use Category:Drug culture Category:Drug control law Category:Psychoactive drugs Category:Drugs in popular culture